I don’t think it was ever that popular, but it’s definitely a solid pistol.

 

It’s a good gun but not great IMO.
before the pandemic when you could get them for less than $400, they where a hell of a deal!
Now the price has creeped up close to the competition and that doesn’t do it any favors.

I find them to be one of the widest/thickest of the current poly-strikers.

 

This. When they were so cheap (I got mine for around $400 plus a rebate) they were very underrated but if they are the same price as the rest then it’s just another polystriker in a sea of them with little to set them apart.

My centurion was reliable, ergonomic and had a nice trigger. The slide was fatter than I preferred (it’s as wide as a Glock 21), the serration things were somehow slick with sweaty hands, and I could never quite wring great accuracy out of mine (probably a me problem) despite the nice trigger. Holsters were a bit of a challenge with fewer options.

I bought it as a Glock 19 alternative to carry but ended up just buying another Glock 19 anyway and eventually moving the APX on.

It’s a solid gun, but just wasn’t quite for me, I’d put it below Glock and Hk for my preference, right in the CZ, M&P, Walther zone.

 

It is a solid pistol and a great value for some of the discounted prices I have seen.
Unfortunate Beretta does the same mistake over and over, They introduce a product with little to no advertisement or aftermarket support.
It took Earnest Langdon to breath life into the very under rated PX series and legendary 92.
As I explain to my family in Italy, Americans like to personalize and upgrade their firearms, I was hoping Beretta would have figured that out.

 

I like the Beretta APX I have but lack of options for sights, holster,etc. sure don’t do it any favors. I prefer the grip on an APX vs Glock, mine is mainly a bedside gun lately.


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I had a APX Compact. It's a solid pistol and very well made. It has excellent ergonomics, great trigger and low felt recoil. Shoots very flat. Unfortunately, I never could get real good accuracy with it. I guess I'm not the only one, but I wonder why that it is. It could be the sights. The slide serrations, IMO, are not that functional. Holster options were few and far between (Beretta's failure in marketing). I ultimately traded it on for another pistol.

It’s a good option if you need a nightstand home protection gun, lack of aftermarket is the killer. I picked one up some years back for $369, in my neck of the woods no one wanted them.

The APX has just as much in common build wise as Glock, S&W, CZ, M&P, Walther, and others in the same realm of service pistols. In fact, it's better than some of the established names in some respects. A lot of people who gave little to know experience who are regurgitating old information and stuff they heard as being fact.

The APX isn't for those who want a GUCCI gun. Guess what, neither are Caniks, Rugers, polymer CZs, duty grade Walthers, HKs, and most other top names on the market with the exception of Glock, M&P, and the Sig P320/P365.

Tier1, Concealment Express, WeThePeopleHolsters, DaraHolsters, MuddyRiverTactical, VedderHolsters, StealthGearUSA, AlienGear, ClingerHolsters, N8Tactical, just to name ONLY of few of the top kydex holster makers who make holsters for the APX. There are ALSO a plothera of well known and not so well known (both retail and custom) leather holster makers that I can also list...

Ameriglo offers two different sets of night sights, Triticon also offers XD and XD HR night sights, XS Big Dot offers night sights, and there are fiber optic sights with or without a blacked out rear. There are also adjustable sights and suppressor hight night sights available.

Beretta offers 10, 13, 15, 17, and 21 round magazines. They also offer spacers for those mags. Beretta offers factory AND Galloway Precision offer their after market aluminum +2 mag extentions, magwells, extended magazine and slide releases. They offer threaded barrels, and heavy competition recoil spring assembly. Beretta and Galloway Precision sell competition firing pin springs which drops the tigger to a 4lb. Galloway Precision also sell competition stainless steel guide rods with different weight springs. Another company offers magwells, frame weights (in brass or aluminum), thump rest, magazine extentions, and other competition related accessories each in several different colors (black, red, blue, orange, FDE). There is also an aftermarket trigger in the works. Lastly, Fullsize APX can be converted to have a frame mounted thumb safety or a fullsize frame without the finger grooves in 4 different colors..

Unlike others companies, the optic ready APX offerings ship with all the STEEL mounting plates for all popular red dots on the market. You do not have to spend $$$ after the you purchased your gun to buy optic plates. BerettaUSA sells the optic plates separately. Beretta sells an optic plate that fits into the rear dovetail for their non optic ready pistols. For those who rather have their slide milled, there are companies who offer that service for the APX.

There are litterally DOZENS of holster companies who sell kydex, leather, hybrid, etc holsters for the APX. Again, just because some holster companies do not support the APX doesn't mean there is not a LOT aka more than enough aftermarket support for anything anyone would ever need. There is more than enough. Oh, and spare OEM parts for the APX (springs, grip modules, mags, extractors, firing pins, RSA, mag releases, etc) are also plentiful, can be purchased from BerettaUSA, Brownells, and several other online venders.

 

I had one, and while it was a good solid gun, I couldn't hit diddly with it. So, out it went!

 

I loved it when you could get it for a decent price. IMO it was always a "ugly" gun but it worked and was reliable. At near $400 id have taken it vs many on the market now at a higher price point. dont know what they are going for now though.

 

Still? I didn't know it ever was.

 

No. It never was. Agreed. But there was a following that called it the best grip and alright trigger. Then silence fell. So I wasn't sure if people still felt it was good.

Oh wow. I was under the impression it was still at the 2019 Beretta stated "value pricing." Just checked, Yep. current pricing helps it not at all.

Okay. Thanks!

 

Never made a splash around here at all. I'm sure it's a solid pistol, but nobody local bought one to try

 

I love my Centurion 40. Very well built and simple. Glock just caught up to the APX 40 with their G5’s and the wider slide IMO. It doesn’t bother me but if I was invested in 9mm, IDK if I would have one. The aftermarket for them is nill IMO. Holsters are very hard to find and even have custom made for some damn reason.

 

I like the Beretta APX I have but lack of options for sights, holster,etc. sure don’t do it any favors. I prefer the grip on an APX vs Glock, mine is mainly a bedside gun lately.


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Where is @dreadnought? He always liked them

 

Late to the thread. Lol!

 

This is like going into the Nike store and asking where the Adidas section is. This is a Glocktalk forum.

Most here are just giving opinions and never owned an APX....or going by how it looks.
I have several, they are great guns.
Against the "gold standard" they have a huge market disadvantage, so they are priced cheap (as are all the others trying to unseat the gold standard), so BANG for the buck they are very high in that ratio on initial purchase (you can get one for the price of a low tier, crappy brand gun) - but because of their market disadvantage, and they are still a Beretta, accessories (mags, holsters, sights) are more expensive or harder to source. Nothing cheap about Berettas, it is well built.

 

you can get one for the price of a low tier, crappy brand gun

Can you still though? The ones I’ve seen lately are right in line with any of the “quality” competition, so the initial cost advantage has been somewhat mitigated.

Not sure if it’s still the case but when I had mine Beretta’s website had a couple 25% off mags sales which were really nice!

Oh, and that competition striker spring really makes the trigger feel good, worth the $7-10 or whatever it is now IMO.

 

I’m sure all ten people that bought one like them

 

I have two of the full size APX pistols. They shoot good and, as has been mentioned, they are well built. Glad I got mine when I did since the other 8 were picked up in quick fashion. I wonder if having two of the only ten ever purchased will mean their value will go up in the future. LOL.

 

I’m a big Beretta fan but the APX was just so fugly I couldn’t give it a try. I would love to see a Beretta striker fired gun with some classic Beretta lines.

 

Yeah, it is a little bit of an ugly duckling for sure.

 

I had a Centurion, but sold it last year. It was "okay." But the 5th Gen Glocks got me back into Glock.

And, I much prefer my 5th Gen G19 over the Beretta APX Centurion. So, it had to go....

 

Top Tier Pistols. Don't let the MSRP fool you.

 

The APX trigger is better than Glock, M&P, and the P320 triggers out the box IMHO. It's in the same relm as the PPQ, VP9, and M&P 2.0 APEX trigger IMHO. Extremely short pull to the wall with little to no resistance. Clean, crisp, audible 6lb break. Short 3mm audible reset. The trigger pull can be dropped from a consistent 6lbs down to 4.5-5lb with an inexpensive factory or aftermarket part. Easy to shoot fast. No creep, sponginess, and long over travel. Like the Walther PPQ and VP9, the APX ALSO has a fully 100% precocked trigger. Being fully precocked is the major reason why their triggers are so good.

Here's a quick crude video I just made and uploaded within the last 15 minutes. This is the stock out the box trigger. I have 4 models of APX in total that were all puchased online from different venders at different times from different parts of the country, and the trigger is the same on all four of my examples.



As far as the slide being HUGE goes. Lets compare it to other pistols.

M&P 2.0 on the top. APX on the bottom. The slide width is about the same. The APX has the large backstrap installed and the 2.0 has the small installed IIRC, so that's why the APX's grip is fatter.

Both pistols are listed at 1.3 inches wide. The width is the same. The only difference that near the top the slide only, the front half near the muzzle end of the M&P 2.0's slide contours inward giving the 2.0 the appearance of being a much thinner gun when it is in fact not. The fact that the 2.0's slide is dehorned and the APX is more blocky like a Glock also give the appearance of being much thinner, but the actual widths are about the same.

APX vs Glock slide.

The CZ P10c (thinnest out of all), Walther, and HK. Keep in mind the over all width of the PPQ and VP9 is wider than the APX.

The fact is that the APX slide isn't that much larger or is about a simular width as other popular offerings on the market. There is NOT a HUGE difference in frame thickness. Excluding the CZ P10c and Glocks, the APX slide is about the same size of everything else. Any difference either way is negligible.

It is one of only 2 modular handguns, and it's the only one that is not only modular, but offers the option to change the grip panels without having to purchase a completely new grip module like with the P320 design. Add the price of mags, the the trigger, the fact that the recoil spring assembly is good for 20k+ intervals per beretta (it's much sooner with other manufacturers), the CHF chrome lined barrel, different factory grip module colors that are relitively inexpensive, and the price, you have a unique product that offers all the industry standards that other duty grade pistols have. Oh and the muzzle end of the APX slide contours inward and the barrel extends past the slide slightly. This is to make the APX less susceptible to being pushed out of battery durring contact shots according to Betetta. That's yet another unique feature not found in the competition.

The only fair complaint I hear launched is about the slide. It's something you either love or hate. I and otherslike the side and have zero problems racking it. Others hate the way it looks, and/or claim it id slippery to them. IMHO, the way it looks is the main issue some in the American market bring up and have an issue with. In the European market, the APX is popular, and it's start to become more and more popular in the U.S. market. More and more aftermarket companies are supporting it. The APX is sold in 21 countries, so that's 20 other countries excluding the US. It also issued by some U.S. police departments, and military and L.E. in Albania, Algeria, France , the Indonesian Navy and Army, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Poland, Seychelles, Thailand, and Brazil. Beretta is continuously adding more to that the list.

 

Thank you for the detailed information. I handled a full-sized APX at a LGS not long after it hit the market and liked how it felt in the hand, but I've never known that much about it. Your "review" is informative.

The APX trigger is better than Glock, M&P, and the P320 triggers out the box IMHO. It's in the same relm as the PPQ, VP9, and M&P 2.0 APEX trigger IMHO. Extremely short pull to the wall with little to no resistance. Clean, crisp, audible 6lb break. Short 3mm audible reset. The trigger pull can be dropped from a consistent 6lbs down to 4.5-5lb with an inexpensive factory or aftermarket part. Easy to shoot fast. No creep, sponginess, and long over travel. Like the Walther PPQ and VP9, the APX ALSO has a fully 100% precocked trigger. Being fully precocked is the major reason why their triggers are so good.

Here's a quick crude video I just made and uploaded within the last 15 minutes. This is the stock out the box trigger. I have 4 models of APX in total that were all puchased online from different venders at different times from different parts of the country, and the trigger is the same on all four of my examples.



As far as the slide being HUGE goes. Lets compare it to other pistols.

M&P 2.0 on the top. APX on the bottom. The slide width is about the same. The APX has the large backstrap installed and the 2.0 has the small installed IIRC, so that's why the APX's grip is fatter.

Both pistols are listed at 1.3 inches wide. The width is the same. The only difference that near the top the slide only, the front half near the muzzle end of the M&P 2.0's slide contours inward giving the 2.0 the appearance of being a much thinner gun when it is in fact not. The fact that the 2.0's slide is dehorned and the APX is more blocky like a Glock also give the appearance of being much thinner, but the actual widths are about the same.

APX vs Glock slide.

The CZ P10c (thinnest out of all), Walther, and HK. Keep in mind the over all width of the PPQ and VP9 is wider than the APX.

The fact is that the APX slide isn't that much larger or is about a simular width as other popular offerings on the market. There us NOT a HUGE difference in frame thickness. Excluding the CZ P10c and Glocks, the APX slide is about the same size of everything else. Any difference either way is negligible.

It is one of only 2 modular handguns, and it's the only one that is not only modular, but offers the option to change the grip panels without having to purchase a completely new grip module like with the P320 design. Add the price of mags, the the trigger, the fact that the recoil spring assembly is good for 20k+ intervals per beretta (it's much sooner with other manufacturers), the CHF chrome lined barrel, different factory grip module colors that are relitively inexpensive, and the price, you have a unique product that offers all the industry standards that other duty grade pistols have. Oh and the muzzle end of the APX slide contours inward and the barrel extends past the slide slightly. This is to make the APX less susceptible to being pushed out of battery durring contact shots according to Betetta. That's yet another unique feature not found in the competition.

The only fair complaint I hear launched is about the slide. It's something you either love or hate. I and otherslike the side and have zero problems racking it. Others hate the way it looks, and/or claim it id slippery to them. IMHO, the way it looks is the main issue some in the American market bring up and have an issue with. In the European market, the APX is popular, and it's start to become more and more popular in the U.S. market. More and more aftermarket companies are supporting it. The APX is sold in 21 countries, so that's 20 other countries excluding the US. It also issued by some U.S. police departments, and military and L.E. in Albania, Algeria, France , the Indonesian Navy and Army, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Poland, Seychelles, Thailand, and Brazil. Beretta is continuously adding more to that the list.

 

MrS&W pretty much hit it. I had a compact and it was great. It was early so support wasn't as wide back then. It's a solid gun, but in all honesty the trigger is subjective. MP's have the best trigger but both are serviceable.

I was recently considering getting a Centurion, but they don't make a RDO ready version.
That led me to get a FN 509 Compact MRD, which is a great gun and comes with all steel optic mounting plates. It's a good one too.

The APX like the FN was a MHS developed gun. I shoot the MP and FN better.

 

There are 5 optic ready APX versions. The APX Centurion RDO (optics ready only), APX Centurion Combat (optic ready and threaded barrel), APX Fullsize RDO (optics ready only), APX Fullsize Combat (optic ready and threaded barrel), and the APX Target (Grey frame, longer frame, slide, and barrel vs the APX fullsize, extended mag release, extended slide stop/release, optics ready, Competition Striker Spring installed, and lighter OTB trigger).

The APX uses a Combat hold and combat sights, e.i, the front dot is bigger than the rear. Like the XS Big Dot sites, they are optimized for getting on targer fast in s combat or self defense situation and not for target or long range shooting. Speaking from personal experience and from what other members on the Beretta forum have experienced, switching the sights out to night sights or fiber optic sights makes a big difference for those who like to impress themselves and others by shooting nice tight groups at the range, and for those who want to shoot past general self defense distances.

FN is probably the only manufacturer that I have no experience with. Glad you found something that works for you. I will have to check thoseout.

 

Dont know where you guys shop but he APX is still under $400/

 

Calling an APX ugly, on a Glock board. LOL LOL LOL LOL

 

having owned both, the APX is a lot less visually appealing than the smoother straighter lines of Gen 2-4 Glocks to me. Compared to the Gen 5 FS Glocks it’s a toss up, for sure.

FWIW the Walther PDP is the ugliest recent polystriker in my eyes, it’s really giving the Hi Point a run for its money, again IMO

 

Again opinions focusing on the "looks", but never owned one.

It is a gun, primarily designed for killing other humans. You don't look at it while shooting it.

 

I do think the APX is a bit of an ugly duckling but not in a bad way. Heck, I bought two of them. Glock has had a long time to grow on people whereas the APX is still pretty new. I think the APX is a very well built pistol compared to pretty much any other polymer framed, striker fired pistol. To be honest, it has a more solid feel, build wise than my HK VP9 and I very much like the VP9.

 

The "infamous hated" video:

 

They look good to me but I think Glocks look fine too. I’m not picky about the looks of a reliable tool. Now HI Points are hideous. So is the Sig 320. I own a number of Sigs and can’t think of an uglier model. Mine are all purty!

 

I had a APX Compact. It's a solid pistol and very well made. It has excellent ergonomics, great trigger and low felt recoil. Shoots very flat. Unfortunately, I never could get real good accuracy with it. I guess I'm not the only one, but I wonder why that it is. It could be the sights. The slide serrations, IMO, are not that functional. Holster options were few and far between (Beretta's failure in marketing). I ultimately traded it on for another pistol.

 

It's the stock sights. I seen a few people say they were shooting low. Many of them were using a Center Hold; however, APX uses a Combat hold.

Simular to XS Big Dot sights, the front sight dot is larger than the rear dots, and the front sight is fat. It's because Betetta mistaken prioritized getting shots on target fast in life or death situations over target shooting, putting all rounds through one hole, and making hits out past general self defense distances. I assume they were thinking military and L.E. combat situations instead of civilian target shooting when they went with those sights without realizing that most gun buyers in the U.S. at least rather shoot tight groups or they will not be interested in the gun otherwise.

I also like to go to the range and impress myself and others by shooting the tightest groups possible. I switched mine sights out to Ameriglo Spartans on my carry gun and I use fiber optic sights on one of my full sized APXes. That sovled the problem. Trijicon HD XR sights with the thin front blade will also be great of those who want more accuracy.

When I shoot my with the stock sights for accuracy, I ignore the 3 dots completely and focus on aligning the top of the front post with the top of the rear sight blades instead. That will put your point of impact near where the dot is. In a self defense senario and what's generally accepted to be self defense distances, this is not necessary; however, should one find themselves in a self defense situation where they have time to line up sights, aim, and take a long distance shot, the method I just described will work.

Two years ago around the time the APX first came out, aftermarket support was a problem, but it is not anymore.

 

It’s a good option if you need a nightstand home protection gun, lack of aftermarket is the killer. I picked one up some years back for $369, in my neck of the woods no one wanted them.